The Cabarrus County Bomb Squad detonated a “hoax device” found on a walking trail near a community pool Monday.

A resident found the suspicious package about 10:15 a.m. in the Rocky River Crossing subdivision in Harrisburg. Once on the scene, Cabarrus County sheriff’s deputies found “what certainly looked like a real device,” said Harrisburg Fire Chief Bryan Dunn.

Law enforcement evacuated five homes and about 18 people within a 900-foot radius before the bomb squad detonated the package at 2:30 p.m., Dunn said.

Evacuees were taken to a nearby fire station.

“The safest way to mitigate the situation was to detonate the device,” said Harrisburg spokeswoman Ann Gibson. “They’re calling it a hoax device, but there was a loud boom.”

No one was injured and no property was damaged, Dunn said. Evacuees were allowed to return home around 3 p.m.

Dunn declined to say what the package looked like but said “it certainly had the components of what we would consider a real device.”

Dunn said the Cabarrus Sheriff's Office would investigate.

“We certainly take it very seriously,” he said.

The community pool is located on Rocky River Crossing Road, near the intersection with Roberta Road.